About Department of Economic History
The department consists of around fifty active individuals, including four professors, approx. fifteen employed teachers and researchers, approx. fifteen active doctoral students, approx. ten researchers, and three administrators. Visiting researchers and doctoral students are a regular and a welcome part of the department.
Examples of recurring activities at the department are the Higher seminars, the UCBH seminars, and the STS seminars.
Teaching is conducted at undergraduate level, including a Master’s program with a specialisation in Economic History. A new Master’s program in Political Economy and Sustainability is planned to start in the autumn semester 2026, and further distance education courses are also planned for the future.
The Department dates back to 1947-48 when Karl-Gustaf Hildebrand, with a recently earned doctoral degree in history, became preceptor of Economic History. Hildebrand was appointed Professor of Economic History in 1959 and from 1964 Economic History was placed within the newly established Faculty of Social Sciences. The first doctoral thesis defence took place in 1967 and since then approx. 150 doctoral students have earned a doctoral degree in economic history. The Department started off small with only one professor as permanent faculty, but grew rapidly during the 1970s. Today, we are one of the largest departments in economic history in Sweden and intenationally.